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StudentsFirst back with money to defeat Proposal 2

Posted on 10/26/12 at 12:49pm

It's been clear throughout this election that shadowy, special interest groups with lots of money have been bankrolling various state candidate elections and ballot proposals. One of those shadowy groups is one we're familiar with in Michigan--StudentsFirst--which donated $500,000 to the campaign to defeat Proposal 2.

This really isn't much of a surprise since its founder and CEO, Michelle Rhee, previously threw her money and influence behind the 2011 legislation that took away the right of Michigan teachers to collectively bargain over evaluations, tenure, and layoff and recall. Rhee is the failed D.C. school superintendent with an extreme agenda to destroy public education under the guise of "education reform."

Andy Solon, StudentsFirst’s Michigan state director said of the group’s donation, "We support collective bargaining for teachers, but we also support some of the limits on what unions could negotiate. Proposal 2 would keep bad teachers in the classroom and turn back the clock on key education reforms at a time when Michigan schools and students need our help the most."

The donation went to Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Constitution--the coalition of conservative, business and school groups (including the Michigan Association of School Boards and the Michigan Association of School Administrators)--who oppose the rights of working families to have a voice in deciding their wages, benefits and working conditions. StudentsFirst has picked up the same lies and misinformation these groups are using to defeat Proposal 2.

Collective bargaining is what school employees use to help schools and students. It keeps class sizes low so teachers can teach and students can learn. It gives educators training opportunities so they're bringing best practices to their classrooms. And it provides the tools and resources teachers and students need to be successful.

Collective bargaining isn’t hurting school reform. Special interest groups like StudentsFirst with an extreme agenda to turn public schools into profit centers and silence workers is what’s hurting true school reform.